Open Secret
by MATT SUNSTON
Summary: It's already impossible for Apollo and Athena to lie to each other. Could they really be expected to keep the fact that they're dating hidden from anyone else?
1. How it Started

The familiar creak of Apollo's small couch sounded as the young man resting on it reclined backward.

In truth, it was more of a loveseat than a couch, but the word "loveseat" was not something Apollo Justice found any particular joy in saying out loud. "Couch" was a suitable word on its own, he found.

He glanced in the direction of the open doorway leading from his small apartment's living room to its even smaller kitchen. The audible _clank_ of a large pot against something just as hard told him that, perhaps, he should have been supervising what his girlfriend was doing at the moment.

"Hey, Athena? Everything alright in there?"

The spirited young Athena Cykes had volunteered to make up a bowl of popcorn for the movie night she was currently here for. In her own words, she "knew her way around a kitchen". It was that specific wording that Apollo wouldn't argue; the particular implications of her words were what he took issue with.

Athena certainly knew her way around _a_ kitchen, in that she'd come over to Apollo's apartment enough times to be familiar with the layout of the room in question. Her actual abilities in _using_ the resources present in the kitchen were something else entirely. Still, Apollo had seen Athena make spaghetti without causing a fire, so something like popcorn couldn't be too much more complicated, right?

Another noisy _clank_ marked the loss of another layer of Apollo's confidence.

"That was nothing!"

Apollo rolled his eyes, and as if it had been on a cue, caught the sound of a digitized voice chirping, _"Liar!"_

Widget made it very hard for Athena to lie to Apollo, even accounting for his talent in picking out nervous tells. This was balanced out, at least, by his own inability to lie back. Athena could pick out even the slightest fluctuation in his tone in an instant.

Had Apollo not already been severely questioning the safety of allowing Athena to continue working in the kitchen alone, her sudden panicked shriek a few seconds later sealed the deal. Apollo jumped to his feet and ran for the door.

He arrived just in time to see Athena hastily shoving a pot into the sink, where it gave off an impressive burst of steam and filled the air with an ear-splitting hiss.

Athena, her hands still submerged, looked back and forth between the sink and Apollo in the doorway several times.

"I'll rev up the microwave." Apollo sighed, waving his hand and approaching the small pantry.

* * *

"It could've gone worse." he was saying several minutes later, as he settled himself back on the couch. Athena dropped down next to him, a bowl of microwave popcorn in her hands.

She struck a pout. "It wasn't going to burst into flames…" she grumbled.

"Not this time, no," Apollo conceded, grabbing the nearby remote, "But I couldn't help noticing that you prepared a whole sink full of water in advance, just in case. Actually, come to think of it, it's probably best that it turned out this way. If you'd actually _used_ cooking oil, shoving the pot into the sink would've just made things worse."

Athena just went on muttering under her breath for a few moments.

"… What are we watching again…?" she asked while Apollo set up the TV.

"The extended cut of 'Steel v. Nickel: Dawn of Great Justice'." Apollo answered automatically.

Athena raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "I always heard that movie was terrible." she said.

"The _theatrical_ cut was terrible." Apollo replied, even quicker this time, giving the impression that he was used to explaining this frequently. "They cut half an hour out of the movie at the last minute and shuffled everything left over around. It completely ruined the pacing and all the characters' motivations."

"If you say so, nerd." Athena said, shrugging. She took a handful from the popcorn bowl and leaned against her boyfriend's shoulder. Apollo finished setting up the movie and threw his legs onto the footrest before the couch.

* * *

There came a lull in the mostly fast-paced and thrilling movie just shortly before the two-hour mark.

The popcorn was long-gone, its bowl left on the floor. Athena felt a bit sleepy, but the movie was interesting enough to keep her attention. She remembered seeing a lot of merchandise related to the Steel Samurai franchise around the office. Trucy was a fan, if she remembered right, and in the days after Apollo joined the Wright Anything Agency, the teen magician had converted him, as well.

Thinking of one friend made the face of another drift into her mind. Athena tried to just focus on the movie, but the gentle expression of her oldest friend, Juniper Woods, forced its way back into the forefront of her mind.

Athena felt like a terrible friend. She'd known Juniper since the two of them were children, and ever since first introducing her to Apollo, Athena had become very aware that her friend had a positively massive crush on the young man whose shoulder she was still burrowing into. But even knowing that, just two months ago she'd managed to let her own feelings take priority over those of Juniper.

She remembered every detail of the day in question perfectly.

* * *

It had been an exceptionally dull day at the Wright Anything Agency. Athena had engaged Apollo in many wildly varied conversations over the course of their work day in an ongoing effort to just pass the time before either could lose their mind. One such conversation had taken a unique turn and ended with an escalating series of teasing remarks between the two, as their conversations often did. What began with a minor jab at Athena's dress sense eventually came to a sound conclusion when Athena found herself unable to properly respond to Apollo's latest comment - a particularly long-winded and intricate deconstruction of her entire personality that simply covered too much ground in one go - and instead just struggling for a moment to articulate a comeback. Apollo just sat enjoying a smug look at his own accomplishment as her silence went on, until...

 _"Damn, he's good!"_

If it was possible, the room seemed to become even more silent following Widget's unexpected outburst.

Apollo was the one to react first. Seated in his office chair in front of Athena, who was standing just a step away, his shoulders hunched and he began to laugh. His laugh was of the most genuine sort, loud and pushing his voice to its higher register.

Athena had certainly heard Apollo laugh before, but never had he sounded so completely absorbed by the mirth in his voice. He only got louder as the seconds passed, and Athena herself might have broken out in laughter as well were she not so suddenly fascinated by a particular undercurrent her ears picked up from Apollo.

She always liked when she had a chance to try and make Apollo laugh. Her worries over his mental health following the UR-1 retrial kept her vigilant in observing her friend's mood and emotions. What she was hearing from him right now, however, was something she wasn't used to. Beyond the easily recognizable emotions she always picked up from a person laughing genuinely, she noticed another sound, as clear as anything.

Love.

It wasn't something Athena heard especially often, but she'd spent enough time around college-aged students during her time in Europe to know what she was hearing. Her mouth fell open a bit and her legs suddenly began to feel weak.

Apollo was still laughing, his eyes directed to the floor, and with every moment he went on, Athena could hear more and more of the peculiar emotion surging from his voice.

(… Apollo _loves me_ _…_ _?)_

It took another few stunned seconds for Athena to notice Apollo calming himself down and beginning to curiously look up at her.

"Uhh… Hey, Athena…? You spacing out there?"

"I- uh…"

Athena's indistinct guttural noise didn't help her case. She felt rather out-of-place all of a sudden. Unless she was drastically misinterpreting something, - which she doubted - she'd just heard what essentially amounted to Apollo standing up before her and clearly confessing his undying love. That was quite something to take in so quickly. She couldn't be mistaking it, could she…?

Apollo gave one more little chuckle, standing up to face her properly. One little thought flitting around Athena's scattered mind pushed her into a decision she suspected she might regret.

It only took her one step. A single rapid move and she was pushing Apollo backward with force that sent him into instantaneous shock. Athena heard one of his elbows hit the wall just behind him with a clumsy _thud,_ and before she knew it she'd claimed his lips with her own, pushing his back flush to the wall. She felt Apollo wriggling between the wall and her body, a tiny questioning noise bubbling out of his mouth, muffled by her kiss.

* * *

Still nuzzling into Apollo's shoulder, Athena felt her face heat up a bit as she recalled the way Apollo had recovered from his momentary daze and returned her kiss, the pair of them rapidly descending into the kind of passionate make-out that Athena was certain would've prompted Mr. Wright to fire both of them on the spot if he'd witnessed it.

It was only once they'd calmed down that they began to consider precisely that point. What would their boss say if he knew about this? Trucy would just have a whole new world of teasing to introduce them to, but they weren't sure about her father.

This brought Athena back to where she'd started. There were, it seemed, numerous people she and Apollo had decided to keep their new secret from. They'd needed a day or two to agree that they were into the realm of "officially dating", and once there they had begun to worry in earnest about how they would reveal the news, if at all.

"I don't need your big brother finding out and threatening to cut off my-"

Athena had opted to interrupt Apollo before he could finish that particular sentence. She giggled at the memory.

Apollo, his eyes locked on the screen until that moment, glanced at her.

"What's up?" he asked. Athena just smiled, adjusting herself and sliding another inch or two closer to him on the couch. She didn't want to burden him with any of this at the moment. Their evening was going very well without her worries interfering.

* * *

 _This is just a little something I'm working on for the Wright-a-Thon over on the Kink Meme. Not everything there can be steeped in depravity, y'know?_


	2. Bottled Emotions

A bright sunrise, an early start, and a route carefully chosen to avoid traffic made for a near-perfect start to Athena's Sunday morning. Once she was on her feet, she got outside in a hurry, slipping on a new pair of running shoes - a birthday gift from Apollo, no less - and leaving her apartment behind.

She had a couple of stops to make on her morning run, after which she would return home for breakfast and a shower.

The first was a small single-bedroom house not terribly far from her building. Until her arrest, it had been Aura Blackquill's home, and now it was instead occupied by her younger brother, on account of his own release from prison.

A sharp series of four knocks. Athena stood back, waiting for the door to be answered. The familiar shrieking cry of a bird sounded from a tree in the house's small yard.

"Good morning to you too, Taka." Athena said, locating the familiar hawk perched there. She turned around again at the sound of the doorknob turning.

Simon Blackquill barely got half a word out before he was interrupted by a hug around the neck from Athena. "Hi, Simon!" Athena said brightly once she'd released him.

"Hmph." came Simon's expected response, which would've seemed dismissive were it not for the slight smile on his face. "I see adding another year to your life has done little to affect your daily habits, Cykes-dono."

Athena scoffed back at the tall prosecutor. "I only turned nineteen two weeks ago, Simon. I'm definitely not too _old_ to keep exercising. Besides, doesn't the sunrise look great?"

"Indeed." Simon responded. He brought a hand to his mouth and whistled sharply. Immediately, Taka flew from his perch in the nearby tree to land on Simon's shoulder. "Now, I surmise that you didn't come over here at the crack of dawn just to talk about the sunrise. Tell me, what was it that brought you here?"

Athena smirked. "What, a girl can't just check up on her friends for no reason?"

"You and I both know that Athena Cykes rarely does anything without reason." Simon replied, offering Taka a gentle massage on the neck.

"Oh, _fiiine."_ Athena said with a drawn-out sigh. "I wanted to _see you,_ for one, but I also wanted to ask you about a movie."

"You're not asking me to attend another of your office movie nights, I hope."

"No," Athena said, rolling her eyes, "You don't have to worry about me _forcing_ you to socialize. But honestly, Simon, people probably wouldn't all be so scared of you if you didn't hide out in here all day outside of work. … And if you wore something that wasn't monochrome."

Simon, who could hardly argue, given his current attire consisting of a solid grey t-shirt and jet black slacks, responded, "And risk giving up that most wonderful title of 'The Twisted Samurai'? You jest, surely."

Another eye roll. _"Whatever,_ Simon. You keep looking like you want to scare children if you want. I'm not gonna boss you around." Athena had been through this kind of conversation a lot of times, and predicted no more success than in the past. "Now, like I said, I wanted to ask you about a movie. I know you spent a while catching up on all the Steel Samurai stuff you missed while you were in jail, - don't pretend you didn't, you _**nerd**_ \- so I wanted to know something. Did you like the Steel v. Nickel movie?"

Simon hesitated to answer. Athena had caught his attempt at a gesture dismissing the idea that he had devoted a solid week of time off to closing up the gap in his knowledge of the expansive TV and movie franchise instantly. "… The extended edition, I hope you mean?" he said after conceding.

"That's the one. Apollo-… Uhh, Apollo says that the theatrical cut was terrible, but I liked the extended one."

Athena hoped that her brief stumble over her words wasn't too suspicious. She'd meant not to mention anything about Apollo in this conversation. Like him, she didn't really feel that it was quite time yet to let Simon know that she and her senior co-worker were dating.

Simon gave her a momentary curious look, but seemed to let it pass. "Yes, by all accounts, the initial theatrical release was a travesty of cinema. The director's intended cut was the far superior take. I would have taken neither you nor Justice-dono for the type interested, however."

"Yeah, you can blame Trucy for that." Athena said, trying to keep it cool while side-stepping her brief mistake. "She and the boss are all over Steel Samurai stuff. She got Apollo hooked, and now they're after me, too."

Taka left his place on Simon's shoulder to fly away from the house entirely. This left Simon to glance idly around the area for a moment before replying. "There are far worse things to be heavily invested in."

"You got that right." Athena said. "So, um… Another question: d'you have any of the other movies…? I… I liked the one a lot more than I expected to."

"Ha," Simon chuckled, "So, this was your true aim? Your technique needs further honing. Still, if you wish, I suppose I can help you."

Athena grinned. "Really? Thanks, Simon!" she said. Before he could stop her, she jumped up to give him another hug. He sighed, but this time he returned the gesture. "I can't take anything right now, but what if I come back later?"

"I'll be here, Athena." Simon said. "Now, do you mind carrying on your way? I have a number of other errands to deal with this morning."

"Alright, see ya-!"

Athena waved to him as she left the yard and resumed her jog. Simon didn't really wave back, only going as far as to raise a single hand for a moment, but Athena wasn't too demanding in that regard.

She allowed herself a sigh. Simon might not have her hypersensitive hearing, but he could usually tell when someone was trying to hide something. She was glad to have succeeded in throwing him off the trail of her mention of Apollo.

* * *

Her next stop wasn't a house, but rather a large public garden with a winding footpath through its centre.

"Junie!"

Athena came to a stop, leaning over a short fence. Just past a row of saplings beyond the fence, the young brunette woman she'd come to see looked up from her work to smile at her.

"Thena!" Juniper greeted her brightly. She was holding a large bag of some garden care product Athena couldn't identify, which she set down in a bare patch of dirt. "How are you?"

"I'm… great, Junie." Athena said. It was half true. She had nothing notable to complain about going on in her life at the moment, to be sure, but her particular reason for coming here this morning gave her a certain sense of looming dread.

Juniper often volunteered her time at this garden, proving to be an expert in tending to the many varied types of plant life it housed. The place had a beautiful atmosphere to it, and Juniper looked every bit as serene as her surroundings. All this could do little to lessen Athena's apprehension, however.

Athena sighed. "We need to talk. Do you have time?"

Juniper met her eye curiously. "Of course. Is something wrong?"

Athena opened her mouth to reply, but hesitated. in a smooth motion, she hopped the short fence to walk into the garden. "… OK." she said following a pause to steel herself for what was to come. "Junie, have you… noticed anything about me lately? Like, in the past two months…?"

Juniper's smiled faded partway. "What do you mean? Is there something I should have noticed?"

Again, Athena was halfway into getting a reply out, only to freeze up. "… Oh, _man,_ this is harder than it should be…"

" _I'm the world's worst best friend!"_

Athena jerked awkwardly at Widget's outburst. Juniper looked just as surprised as Athena clamped a hand over the talkative device. "Quiet, you…" Athena muttered downward.

"A-Athena, what's wrong?" Juniper asked her, suddenly sounding very worried. "If you did something… something wrong, I-I'm sure I can forgive you."

" _Unforgivable!"_

Athena made an irritated noise and tugged down hard on Widget's casing. The snap holding the device's chain together popped open and Athena shoved Widget into her pocket. When she looked up, she spotted a bench a few steps away.

"Uhh, come sit down." she said, marching over to take a seat. Juniper followed. "Alright, let me try this again…"

If she'd been hoping to break the news gently, Widget had probably ruined her chance. Juniper's immediate effort to soothe her worries, even before she knew what it was Athena wanted to tell her, wasn't helping with her guilt either. _Why_ did she have to be such a great friend…?

"Thena," came Juniper's gentle voice once again, "Whatever it is that this is about, you can tell me. I won't be upset with you."

Athena couldn't handle this anymore.

" _I-I stole Apollo from you, Junie-!"_

…

The silence that followed was reminiscent of what often came after outbursts from Widget, but this time, Athena had been the one to speak for herself.

Finally, her friend's voice returned, even softer now. "… Thena?"

There was nothing she could do to keep her voice calm now. "I'm so _sorry,_ Junie-! I'm a terrible friend-!"

"Thena-…"

Athena didn't let herself stop, even as Juniper tried to speak over her. "I know how you feel about him, a-and I wanted to help you confess to him, but-… I-It was just so _perfect_ \- we were talking, a-and he started laughing - I wish you could've heard him, he sounded so happy just to be with me, I-I didn't ever think I'd react like I did-"

" _Thena-!"_

Athena froze, feeling a gentle hand gripping at her wrist. She had tears welling up in her eyes, which she rubbed away with her other hand. She couldn't think of a time she'd heard Juniper speak with that much force. It was strange, but hearing her voice made Athena briefly think about Juniper's future plans to become a judge. She'd need a forceful tone in that position.

"Athena, just… just start at the beginning, OK?"

Juniper released her wrist, and Athena looked her in the eye. The look of confusion and worry she found made her wish she could've traded her "lawyer superpower", as Trucy called it, with Apollo. She took a breath.

* * *

"He really sounded like that?" Juniper asked her a few minutes later, after Athena managed to give her a clear description of the day she'd begun her new relationship with Apollo.

"Yes. It wasn't like the way it sounds in some TV shows, when it's just actors faking it." she replied. "I could tell exactly the way he felt, even if he wouldn't have ever said it out loud."

Juniper had been patient and listened through every word up to this point. "So," she said slowly, "You two have been together ever since then?"

Athena hesitated yet again. She could feel tears stinging at her eyes once more. "Y-Yes." she said, doing her best not to break down again.

She waited for Juniper to speak up again, and to hear her best friend's voice become shaky and strained, her heart utterly shattered.

What she heard instead was anything but.

"Athena, that's so wonderful! Congratulations!"

Athena could only look back, her face blank.

"I… Wow, this is so good to hear!" Juniper went on in her stead.

"B-But… what about you…?" Athena managed to ask, her voice as weak as she'd expected Juniper's to sound.

"Oh, Thena," Juniper said, placing a gentle hand on hers, "You're my best friend. I think Apollo's an absolutely wonderful person, and sometimes I've tried to pull together the courage to ask him how he feels about me, but… Thena, _he loves you._ You said it yourself. That's ten times better than my silly crush."

Athena felt stunned. She didn't know what to say.

"If anything, I'm sorry that I made you feel so worried about telling me." Juniper continued, her smile back in full force. "You're always so compassionate to everyone around you, you must have felt terrible."

"I-…"

Athena cursed her own inability to form a response. In her continued silence, Juniper pulled her into a hug. "I should get you two a gift, to celebrate!" she said.

"J-Junie…" was the best Athena could do. She hadn't felt this speechless in some time. She hugged her friend back, a slight flow of tears starting to work its way down her face again, though for a very different reason this time.

It was unfair, really, for her to have such a great friend in Juniper.

* * *

Even when she left the garden to finish her trip for the morning, Athena felt a new and welcome sense of release following her confession.

She needed to talk to Apollo. Rummaging in her pocket, she produced her cell phone. Apollo's number was the first to come up on the screen, and she called it without hesitation.

It was only after a few seconds of waiting through the ringtone that she remembered something: it wasn't even nine in the morning. Apollo Justice was many things, but these days, a morning person was not one of them. She hastily cancelled the call.

* * *

"Nnh…?"

Apollo pulled his head free of the soft pillow it had been enjoying until a few seconds ago. His phone had been ringing on his bedside table, but now it was silent. He stared at it for a few seconds, his eyelids heavy. Hearing nothing else, he dropped his head back to the pillow.

 _ **-bzzt-**_

Apollo grunted again. Now his phone was vibrating on the table. He dragged an arm free of his blankets to retrieve it. The screen's brightness hurt his eyes a bit in the darkness of his room.

-Message from Athena C.-

-Sorry!-

-Stupid me forgot it was Sunday-

-See you at the park after breakfast!-

Apollo still didn't feel awake, but he smiled. Fumbling with his phone, he typed out a reply. He yawned heavily as he made to send it off.

As he set his phone back on the table and relaxed against his pillow once more, he didn't notice the slight mistake he'd made before sending off the message.

…

 _ **-bzzt-**_

"Hmm…?"

Apollo blinked his eyes open again. Why was Athena still texting him? He retrieved the phone and flipped it open, yawning again.

Even in his groggy state, his eyes snapped wide open when he read the name atop the newest message.

-Message from Trucy W.-

-Polly, who are you hitting on?-

-Somehow I don't think this was meant for me.-

Apollo was suddenly feeling a lot less tired. Overcome with embarrassment, he hastily tried to type out a reply, checking over the listing of who his last text had gone to. To his relief, Trucy was the only name aside from Athena on the list. Once he finished the message, he dropped his phone and flung his head back onto the pillow, slapping a palm to his forehead.

(Can I go back to sleep for the rest of time now…?)


	3. Almost There

For all his efforts, Apollo didn't get any more sleep that morning.

(Just stop thinking about it.)

His mistake in texting Athena was going to come right back and bite him, he just knew. If Trucy told her father about it, he was finished. First, Mr. Wright would have the thought that Apollo had actually been flirting with his underage daughter, but he'd cool off from that misunderstanding once Trucy had had her fun laughing about it. Then would come the girl's inevitable investigation into exactly who the message _had_ been intended for. Trucy was sharp; she'd figure it out soon enough.

Apollo rolled his head off his pillow and clamped his hands onto the pillowcase, dragging it over top of his head.

Maybe, if he was lucky, Mr. Wright would just fire him without too much further hassle. It was hard to imagine him getting too worked up once he knew all the facts.

(Well… if it's my job or Athena, I pick Athena.)

…

He wasn't certain how much time passed before he thought things over again.

(Trucy might vouch for me. Maybe I can still hang around the office on the weekends, just to see everyone. I'm pretty sure she and Pearl have been conspiring to get me a date for a while, so she'll be happy about that, at least…)

It wasn't long before Apollo concluded that he was done sleeping for the night. He dragged himself out of bed, looking over at the clock. He'd throw together some breakfast and take a quick shower before heading out to see Athena.

* * *

Not many people tended to occupy the park this early in the morning.

Athena saw the odd person strolling down the main footpath, but there was, naturally, only one person in particular she was waiting to spot.

Apollo's unmistakable appearance showed up sooner than she'd expected. He had his favourite red hoodie on, though it was worn a bit more lazily than usual, some of its buttons left undone.

"Hey," Athena said with a grin, approaching him. She pressed a quick kiss to his lips and continued, "Early riser this morning?"

"Yeah, something like that…" Apollo said, smiling back. He sounded just a touch uncomfortable, but Athena supposed that could just be because of a lapse in his morning routine.

"So," she said, "This wouldn't be much of a date if we just stood here all morning, so… care to walk with me?"

Apollo offered his left hand. "I'd love to."

* * *

"Oh, good," Apollo interjected, pausing Athena's description of a particular moment in her own morning, "He's exactly the person I want finding out about us."

" _Apollo,"_ Athena said with a laugh, "He's not gonna kill you for dating me. And come on, you know he's not half as scary as he likes to act."

"He's still got that damn _bird_ _…_ _"_ Apollo replied.

"Well, maybe if you didn't have _these,"_ Athena punctuated her words by grabbing a hold on Apollo's two antennae-like hair spikes and squeezing them together, "Taka wouldn't want to peck you half to death all the time. Animals get defensive if they think you're threatening them."

"They're not _horns."_ Apollo argued back, batting her hand away, "You know that I only ever get attacked when Blackquill wants me to."

"Aww," Athena instead slung her arm over Apollo's shoulders and settled her head against his left shoulder. "Fine, I'll ask Simon to stop bullying you next time I see him." She adjusted herself to get comfortable with her head on his shoulder. "Speaking of which, I wanted to ask you something."

Apollo directed their steps into a turn in the park's footpath. "OK." he said.

"Have you been thinking about telling anyone yourself? About us…?"

Apollo chuckled. "Actually, I nearly dropped the bomb on Trucy this morning, when you texted me."

"Trucy? Really, Apollo? You don't want to go to her first, trust me."

"Yeah, the only thing that competes with her magic is her gossip." Apollo agreed. "Still, I think she might start to work it out for herself if we're not careful."

Athena laughed just a little. She was thinking over her response.

"… I'm serious, though, Apollo." she said. "We're gonna have to tell everyone at _some_ point."

"Better later than sooner…"

Athena found Apollo's reply interesting.

"Apollo, remind me again why you're so hesitant. I know I've been doing it, too, but is there a special reason?"

Apollo caught her glance, slowing down. "C'mon, Athena, you think Mr. Wright would just be OK with his two employees dating behind his back?"

"I don't know, maybe…" Athena answered. "I don't think he'd just fire us on the spot…"

"I'm already lucky that he didn't tell me to box up my stuff after everything I did during the space centre case." Apollo elaborated. "I kept you _and_ Trucy in danger-"

"Stop." Athena interrupted him, shoving a hand in front of his chest to block his movement. Apollo looked at her curiously. "Apollo, c'mon - we _all_ forgave you for that. Nobody's keeping a grudge against you. We never did." she said, locking eyes with him.

Apollo held her gaze for a few moments. "Yeah, I know…"

"So _tell_ everyone." Athena said. "What's the worst thing anyone's gonna do?"

"Nah, you're right." Apollo said, surprising her. "Losing my job and being chased off by a raging bird isn't so bad, really…"

Athena smiled, but groaned at his sarcastic tone and let him resume walking. She was quiet for the first few steps before sighing. "Hey, you wanna go grab lunch early? I didn't eat too much yet."

Apollo considered the idea. "I guess we could."

* * *

A half-hour's time found the pair sitting together in a small booth against the back wall of their favourite coffee shop. Apollo slowly sipped his ordinary coffee while Athena played with the straw poking out from the top of her own drink, which had a name containing about seven too many words for Apollo to bother keeping track.

Their lunch orders were on the way, and Athena opted to kick off their conversation again.

"Apollo, I just want to get it over with. If everyone knows that we're together,"

"Athena, I know I'm just being kind of stupid about it. That's just how I act sometimes." Apollo cut in.

"I don't think we're gonna get fired. We've got a pretty great record with the boss so far, right?"

Apollo sat back, glancing toward the floor. "… Fair point. I mean, the day I met Mr. Wright, I punched him in the mouth, and he still hired me after that…"

"Whoa, hold on, that actually _did_ happen?" Athena blurted out. "I thought Trucy was just trying to make you sound cool!"

"Hey-," Apollo objected, "I'm cool…"

"No, you aren't." Athena said with a smile. "You're smart, cute, and a great friend, but cool? Not quite."

"Yet you're still dating me…" Apollo replied, knowing that Athena was only teasing him, yet feeling a little humiliated all the same.

"That's right." Athena said. She slid her drink aside to lean across the table and kiss him on the cheek. Once she sat back, she gestured toward her own face. "You've got a little something right about there…"

Apollo rubbed the back of his hand against the spot, smiling. He waited for Athena to keep talking.

Athena glanced toward the shop's kitchen area. Their food ought to be arriving soon.

"Listen, Apollo," she said, and when she spoke, her voice sounded a bit more serious, "I love you. But let's be honest… just how much longer d'you think we can realistically keep this up? Sooner or later, everyone's gonna have to know."

Apollo sighed, but didn't answer.

"… I told Junie."

"You did?"

Athena nodded. "Before I texted you. I just couldn't take it anymore. I felt so bad for keeping it a secret…"

Apollo raised an eyebrow. "What for? I mean, yeah, she's your oldest friend, but…"

"Oh, you are _clueless,_ Apollo." Athena groaned. "How, exactly, did you never catch on to the fact that she had a _super huge_ crush on you?"

"W-What-!?" Apollo stammered. "Juniper?"

"Well, duh." Athena said with a roll of her eyes. "It drove me and Trucy crazy. She's been crushing on you ever since you two first met."

"B-But, well… Why didn't she say anything…?"

"C'mon, she's such a sensitive girl, Apollo. She wasn't gonna jump up and sing it to you."

Apollo looked as if he didn't have the slightest idea of what to do with this information. _"_ _…_ _Juniper?"_ was the only further inquiry he could manage.

"It's a good thing you've got me." Athena said. "But it makes me wonder how many other girls you've got chasing you that you don't know about… Is it the big forehead…? You're proving that it's as dense as a rock right now, but maybe there's something about it that I'm not getting."

Apollo seemed relieved when the waitress finally returned with their lunch. The pair ate in relative silence for a while.

"Just tell one person at least, OK? Today." Athena said to break the pause. "It's only fair."

Apollo put the remaining third of his sandwich down and sighed. "Alright, one person - but I get to pick who it is."

"Whatever you say." Athena agreed.

* * *

Did most people spend the majority of their weekends hanging around at their workplace? Apollo doubted it. The Wright Anything Agency just happened to be the place where several of his closest friends could regularly be found.

"I don't need Trucy embarrassing me in front of anyone else once she starts trying to figure out who my mystery date is." he said while waiting outside the office door for an answer to his knock.

The door swung open.

"Hey, boss!" Athena said brightly to Phoenix, who had been the one to answer the door.

"Hey," Phoenix replied, "What're you two up to?"

"Apollo wanted to see Trucy for something." Athena answered before Apollo could get a word in. He wanted to glare at her, but kept to himself to avoid suspicion.

Phoenix had a look that was uncomfortably similar to a smirk on his face. "Y'know, I think she was hoping to see you today as well." he said. Moving aside to let them in, he jabbed a thumb toward the ceiling. "She's upstairs - probably in her room."

"Thanks…" Apollo said hurriedly, heading for the stairs at the opposite end of the office's main room.

* * *

"Polly!" Trucy greeted him, giving her common exuberant hug. "I missed you guys!"

"Trucy, you saw us on _Friday."_

"Yeah," Trucy replied, releasing him, "And that means I _didn't_ see you on Saturday." She hugged Athena next. "So, what's up?"

"Uhh… OK, so…"

Athena sat down on the edge of Trucy's bed to watch. She was eager to see Apollo floundering about his explanation.

"You remember that text I sent you by mistake this morning…?" Apollo inquired.

Trucy nodded, producing her cell phone. "Yep! You never really answered me, y'know…"

"Right, well, that's what I'm here now for." Apollo said.

"Ooh, so I get to hear who your date is, huh? I'm proud of you, Polly. I was starting to wonder if you were _ever_ going to hit the dating scene."

Apollo looked exceedingly uncomfortable. Athena, however, grinned widely, enjoying every second.

"Right…" he continued. "Uhh, sorry again about that text, by the way. I figured I should explain myself properly."

"It's OK, Polly, really." Trucy said, starting to sound impatient. "Now out with it! Who's your special girl? … Or guy…?"

Athena suddenly had an idea. Apollo was hesitating again, and she took her opportunity. Hopping to her feet, she stepped over to him and tightly wrapped her arms around his neck, claiming his lips in a downright exaggerated kiss.

Apollo let out a hilariously unexpected squeak of surprise, his eyes widening as Athena went on dragging her hands over the back of his neck and forcing her lips against his ever harder.

Trucy, meanwhile, couldn't keep herself from breaking out laughing. Her initial giggles quickly descended into the kind of loud and continuous laughter that gave her trouble with staying on her feet. She doubled over, her top hat tumbling off her head and onto the floor.

" _Athrrn-_ _…_ _"_ Apollo tried to speak, but Athena wasn't letting up. She took the smallest break from her kiss for a little breath before pushing him back toward the wall, pinning him there. Apollo inwardly cursed Athena's significant lead over him in physical strength. This was definitely not how he'd intended this to go. Trucy looked ready to collapse, still stuck fast in a fit of uncontrollable laughter, and Athena was still putting on the best show she could of what could only be called _making out_ with him. He felt a stab of panic at the sound of a door opening somewhere behind him. He yelped when Athena suddenly grabbed his shoulders and swung their bodies into the space just in front of Trucy's open bedroom door.

"Oh."

Apollo stared in horror at Phoenix, who was staring right back through the door as Athena kept up her performance, her back turned to her employer.

Finally, Athena eased off. She pushed away from Apollo, settling a step away. Her face looked as red as his currently did, though for a different reason.

" _There,"_ she said, her voice exuberant, "How was that?"

Apollo needed a second to remember how to breathe.

Trucy, in the meantime, spoke up, struggling to get words out through her ongoing - and bordering on hysterical - laughter. "I guess we get to collect on some bets, huh, Daddy?"

"What…?" Apollo and Athena inquired together.

* * *

"No way - the _entire_ time-!?"

"Oh, don't exaggerate, Daddy…"

Apollo was glad to at least know Athena was as surprised as he was to be hearing this bit of information.

If Phoenix was to be believed, he and Trucy had been theorizing for quite some time since Athena joined the office about the nature of her relationship with Apollo.

"Granted, you two didn't have the most normal first meeting in the world," Phoenix said, bringing to Apollo's mind the sight of a police officer hurtling through the air toward him, "But then, you also aren't the most normal _people_ in the world."

Apollo was just shaking his head in disbelief. "Let me see if I understand this correctly." he said. "You two have been trading gossip since Athena started working here,"

"Waiting to see if you two ever hooked up, yeah." Trucy finished for him.

Apollo just stared at her. "… Since day one."

"Pretty much. Not just us, either, Pearly was in on it, too. She'll be disappointed that she missed the big reveal, actually." Trucy replied. She produced her phone again, presumably to send off a message to her best friend.

"So, tell me," Phoenix said now, "How long have you two been together? I'm guessing this is a fairly recent thing, but I doubt it only just started yesterday."

"Yeah," Apollo answered, scratching at the back of his head, "Actually,"

"Two months." Athena answered over him. "Give or take a day."

This time the shocked reactions came from the Wrights. Trucy gave a squeak of surprise that was strikingly similar to Apollo's, nearly dropping her phone.

" _Two-_ Why didn't you say anything earlier?" Phoenix sputtered.

"I-…" Apollo began, thinking it over. "I thought you wouldn't approve. For a few different reasons."

Phoenix looked surprised. "Apollo, who do you think I am? What was I gonna do - fire you for falling in love with Athena?"

"I think that was the idea." Athena replied, surprising Apollo by pulling him closer to her side.

Phoenix chuckled. "Well, I'm not, just to let you both know. You two make a great team on the job, and I think I can trust that something like this will only help make you even better."

"Daddy," Trucy interjected, drawing the group's attention, "Remind me - who guessed what, again?"

Apollo and Athena glanced at one another curiously.

"Maya guessed it would take another year," Phoenix answered, "Edgeworth didn't think it would happen at all,"

Apollo stopped listening, instead turning and walking for the door. He didn't know how to feel about the idea that _the Chief Prosecutor_ was in on this.

"Hey," Athena said to him, catching up, "Don't catch your breath just yet. We've still gotta tell Simon."

* * *

 _It took some delays, but it's here. I'd hoped to get this one done before Narumayo Week, but obviously that fell through._

 _Leave a review, should you feel so inclined._


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